Softball: Christian/HercU/Xtreme sweeps Tuesday men’s titles

Christian Builders/HercU/Xtreme players (backs to camera) shake hands with Lily’s Bar following their 12-11 win in the Tuesday League playoff finals. (Photo by Bruce Strand)

by Bruce Strand, Sports editor

Christian Builders/HercU/Xtreme completed a sweep of Tuesday Men’s League titles by edging Lily’s Bar 12-11 in the playoff finals Tuesday night at Orono Fields. CB-H-X went 4-0 in the playoffs after leading with a 20-2 mark in the regular season.

CB-H-X has been a top contender on Tuesday’s for five years with two first-places, two seconds and one third in that span.

Conner Edwards of CB-H-X put the tag on Kalen Thomas of Lily’s Bar, trying to dive to third base on a grounder. (Photo by Bruce Strand)

Lily’s Bar was 9-9 in the regular season and lost its playoff opener, but reeled off five wins to reach the finals. Three of those wins came Tuesday and they needed two more for the title. Lily’s played its last two games with just nine players after one was ejected.

The game ended with some drama, pertaining to the no-homer rule in Class E. With Lily’s down 12-11 and a runner on third in the seventh, Kalen Thomas hit a line drive to deep center, hoping it would hit the fence and tie the score. Instead, the ball carried over the fence for an out.

Jeff Pegues of Lily’s Bar rips a triple on this pitch to knock in a run that pulled his team within 12-11 in the seventh. (Photo by Bruce Strand)

CB-H-X is 45-9 overall in league play. Playing two nights a week with the same roster, they finished 24-2 Tuesdays and 22-7 Mondays, where they placed third in the playoffs.

The championship team had Ross Orrock pitching, Chris Nelson catching, Alex Halvorson at first, Mario Brant at second, Conner Edwards at third, Jared Orrock at shortstop, Anthony Sullivan in the middle, Chad Christian in left field, Pat McCarthy in center and Charlie Bergen in right.

Other players on the team not available in the finals are Evan Johnson, Bob Schleppenbach, Luke Mulvaney, Mike Wollak and Dan Guidarelli. Wollak is the captain on Monday and Nelson on Tuesday.

CB-H-X is not finished. By placing fourth in state Class DD tournament last weekend in Faribault, they qualified for North American Championships (an MSF tournament) in Sauk Rapids on Labor Day weekend.